There are a lot of NASCAR fans in the US of A, and whether you’re a fan or not you have to admit there are some very strange people who love NASCAR. The arguments have gone on for years: drag racing fans are all about the launch, the ability to keep the car planted, the reaction times – all issues that require skill and control. The NASCAR fans claim that “anyone can drive in a straight line”, and “how hard is it when you don’t have to turn?”. Both sides have their valid points, but the debate over which form of racing is harder will go on forever.

Then you have the strange but true aspect about NASCAR fans, you know the kind: they love NASCAR so much that they name their kids (and pets) after a famous driver. They paint their car to look like a NASCAR entry, or adorn their truck with the #3 sticker on all sides.

There’s even the guys who shave the number of their favorite driver in the carpet that is their hairy back. Yeah, that’s kinda gross, there’s just something wrong with a carpet-layer of back-hair thick enough to display a message. Yech-ptooey.

But we found this story on Yahoo recently, and it was too creepy to pass up so we just had to share it with you. It seems Linda Chase, of Jackson, MI, enjoyed watching NASCAR with her live-in friend Charles Zigler. She loved it so much that when he passed away around the end of 2010, she didn’t want to be alone for the upcoming races so she kept him around. But it didn’t stop there.

Linda kept Charles around for the rest of the season, and for the race season after that, and the season after that – 18 months in total. The only way it had been discovered that poor Charles had left the scene was when concerned family members contacted the authorities.

Chase admitted that she had cashed his social security checks, realizing she’d likely end up in jail. But she said in a statement that she didn’t want to be alone to watch NASCAR because he was the only guy who was ever nice to her.

She even went so far as to say that she enjoyed talking to him during races these past 18 months. This is one creepy story that unfortunately stings NASCAR fans where it hurts. We’re not so sure that drag racing fans can top this one, but please don’t try to. Really.